What is Internet?
 

The Internet is a collection of thousands of computer networks, hundreds of thousands of computers and millions of users all connected together via telephone lines to form the world's largest network. The term Internet can be thought of as shorthand for Interconnected Networks.

What can I do on the Internet?

• Send and receive email
• Search for information 
• Join discussion groups using chat or email
• Contact subject experts
• Run a business
• Shop online
• Read newspapers, magazines, and books
• Listen to books online
• Publish professional or personal works

What is the World Wide Web (WWW)?

The World Wide Web is the part of the Internet that most people use.  It is a collection of web sites and pages (electronic documents) linked together like a spider web. These documents are stored on computers called servers, which are located around the world.   

Most businesses, organizations and government agencies maintain a web site.  You can visit them to shop online at places like Amazon, which has no physical presence, or Macy’s, which does. You can visit a government office online, such as the IRS for tax forms or the U.S. Department of State to apply for a passport.  Or maybe you like to travel and you want to visit a hotel online to make a reservation.  Almost anything is possible on the WWW. 

Who Controls the Internet?
 

The US government originally funded the Internet. It was created by UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, and the University of Utah. Currently, no single organization controls the Internet. The Internet is a reflection of society in that it is a big mixture of good and bad, intelligent and ignorant and everything in between. Anyone can post information on the Internet.

• Don't be surprised it you see something that might offend
• Be skeptical of what you read as it may or may not be entirely true <http://www.virtualchase.com/quality/checklist.html>
• Exercise caution when sharing personal information such as your real name, address, phone number, credit card numbers or other personal and valuable information.
• E-Commerce - deal only with known, reputable firms that provide secure connections for purchasing transactions.

Getting Connected

Contact an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to get service. You have various options depending on the connection speed you want and how much you are willing to spend.

Types of Connections OR How fast to you want to go?

• Dial-up/modem - this is the slowest connection and the least expensive ($10-$25 per month) Uses a phone line and a modem (56 kbps).  Your phone line will be busy while you are on the Internet.

• DSL - 2-25 times faster than a 56 kbps modem used for dialup. Your phone line will not be busy.  This type of connection is usually offered by Qwest/MSN for about $40+ per month.

• Cable - the most expensive and the fastest access. Provided by CableOne in the Boise area.

What to expect from your ISP

• Usually have several access plans from which to choose

• Should provide phone support and technical assistance

• Providers can be local, regional or national but all can get you on the Internet

• Check the Yellow Pages under "Internet Service Providers" or "Internet Access Providers".

Web Browser Basics

A browser is a software application, which allows you to navigate the WWW and see and hear text, graphics, sound, and video. Internet Explorer (IE) is the most commonly used browser because it comes with the Microsoft Windows operating system.  The most popular browsers include:

Internet Explorer 7 www.microfsoft.com

Firefox 2 www.mozilla.com

Internet Explorer Browser Components 

1. Title Bar - tells you the web page and browser program you are using
2. Tool bar - common functions that are similar on most browser, such as Back, Forward, Home, Refresh, Print (More details about Tool bar below)
3. Menu Bar - all the functions needed to manipulate the program, the window, or the text
4. Address field – Type in the web site address (www.lili.org), press ENTER
5. Links - additional web sites usually related to the current web page.
6. Scroll Bar - if the scroll bar and scroll arrows are visible on the window side or bottom, then there is more to view on the page.

The Address Bar

Just under the toolbar, you will see a box labeled "Location," "Go To," or "Address." Type in the web site address (URL) you visit. Then press ENTER on your keyboard or press the GO button to the right of the Address box.

By clicking the small triangle (down arrow) to the right of the Address box, you will get a drop-down list of the most recent websites you've visited. To revisit a site, just click on the address.

Menu Bar

The menu bar is located across the top of your browser. It allows you to do things with the web page you are viewing, such as save it to your hard drive, increasing the size of the text on a page. Many of the choices are available using the buttons on the toolbar below, so don't try to learn everything now. Click once on a word to access the drop-down menu, then click on the selection you want to make.

Common Functions of the Internet Explorer Toolbar

Back & Forward

Use these buttons to retrace your steps in either direction.

Stop		Use to stop a site from loading or trying to load, particularly if it is taking a long time to load a web page.
Reload or Refresh		Allows you to "refresh" a page, especially if it didn't load or isn't working properly.
Home		The page your browser will always load when first opened. It can be any page you choose. To make a web site your home page go to: Tools, select "Internet Options", cut and paste the URL into the box at the top of the page.
Search		Internet Explorer's own search tool
Favorites or Bookmarks		A way to "bookmark" or save an address of a web site. Instead of retyping an address each time you visit the site, you can go to Favorites and click on the site name. Favorites are located on the menu bar.
Creating Favorites: Go to the web page you want to save as a Favorite On the menu bar, Click "Favorites"  Click "Add to Favorites" to add site to list.  To revisit a saved or marked web page: Click "Favorites" Choose your desired web page and click on it.
History		View all the sites you have visited over a specific period of time. You set how long you want the browser to hold your history. To do this go to: Tools, select "Internet Options", then use the arrows at the bottom of the page to set the number of days to keep pages in history.
Print		To print a page from the Internet click on this icon HOWEVER this will print EVERYTHING on the page.  To print only the section you need follow the directions below.

Internet Printing (or how to print what you want & save paper)
 

Highlight the section of the web page that you want to print.
Click on FILE on the menu bar
Click on PRINT
Choose Selection then click Print

Have it Your Way - Choose Your Own Home Page

To set your favorite web page to be your browser's home page, to clear your cookies or your temporary Internet files or handle other options...

• Go to Tools (on your Menu Bar at the top of the browser

• Select Internet Options at the bottom of the list

• And you will see the window of options

• 

Searching on the Web - Using a Search Engine

You use a search engine to locate information, businesses, organization or people on the WWW.  How do you use a search engine?  Select one from the list below and do the following:

• Go to the search engine web site and enter your search word(s).
• It will search for the occurrence of your key word(s) on web sites.  This may mean the site is not about the topic you want; only that the word was on the web page.
• Will retrieve web pages they have in their database but NOT everything on the web.  At best you will be searching 25 - 35% of the web.

Popular Search Engines

• Google  http://www.google.com
• Ask   http://ask.com
• MSN Live Search http://www.live.com
• Yahoo  http://www.yahoo.com

Internet Search Tips

For better searching follow these guidelines:

• Use quotes around words that are part of a phrase. (Example: "great barrier reef")
• Put a + (plus sign) in front words or phrases that must appear in documents. No space between the plus and the word or phrase. (Example: recipe +chicken)
• Put a - (minus sign or dash) in front of words that must not appear in result documents. No space between the dash and the word or phrase.  (Example: greyhound -bus)
• To increase your search success try your search in more than one search engine

Know what type of site you are viewing:

• com - commercial businesses; this is the most common "top level domain" (TLD)
• gov - U.S. government agencies
• edu - Educational institutions such as universities
• org - Organizations (mostly nonprofit)
• mil - Military
• net - Network organizations

Read more about Top Level Domains at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-level_domain

For more search techniques visit http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/SearchEngines.html

What Next?

Find more Computer Classes at: http://www.boisepubliclibrary.org/About_BPL/Computers/Computer_Classes/

Class Reservations: 
208-384-4076

Comments or Questions?  
Glenna R. Rhodes, 208-384-4076 or 384-4442, grhodes@cityofboise.org